Tag Archives: polymer clay

Mokume-gane earrings tutorial

Mokume-gane using minimal tools

This information accompanies the post about using minimal tools, and the Mokume-gane post.

There is no paint or other materials used here – and the only tools are a hand roller, blade and knife (and some found items for making impressions).

The way I use this technique works just as well with, or without, a pasta machine.

The end result is usually unexpected – sometimes disappointing, at other times a lovely surprise.

Experiment with colours, the number of layers and the items you use to make impressions. This is what I did.

I rolled three colours to about the same thickness. I wanted the white, and particularly the black, to be thinner than the other colours, so I put a thin layer of black on the white then rolled them together. (I think I used a total of about 60g of clay, the equivalent of a small pack of clay, and this will make a lot of pattern).

Next I stacked the four sheets. It doesn’t matter if the edges aren’t even, you can tear some of your sheets and fill in gaps so that most of your stack has the four sheets.

Rolll out thinner, then cut in half and stack again. You’ll have ten layers. Roll out again, cut in half and stack once more, again tearing some pieces to even the stack. You’ll have twenty layers. I generally like to have between 15 and 30.

I roll this out to a thickness of about 4mm – about 1/8 inch – but try thicker or thinner for different effects.

I then make impressions on the stack. I used the items in the pic above. Make the impressions fairly deep.

Take a clean blade, slightly bend it and take the thinnest slices that you can from the top. You could practice on some plain clay first. As well as pulling the blade towards me, I moved it slightly from side to side. It can help to use your little fingers for support by placing them on your work surface while you slice. I would usually try for a bit more contrast in impressions, for example use the back of a knife in one area, and more rounded objects in another. See one example.

Place the thin slices on a plain sheet of clay. You can create your pieces from this sheet, and also from what remains of the original stack.

Making earrings

You can flatten the sheets in a few ways. You can simply roll over with your roller, using some pressure. This is effective particularly where the sheet is very uneven. Alternatively, you can put deli paper, freezer paper or plain paper over the work, and press your fingers, or the back of a spoon, in a circular motion. You may need to use some pressure, but this will work if the piece isn’t very uneven (for example the green piece on the left.

Once the sheet has a flat, even surface, I draw and cut out shapes from paper. I keep a collection of favourite shapes by covering thin card with contact (or book cover) and cut the shape out with a blade.

I find a place where I want to cut the shape out, then put the shape down in that spot and cut out carefully with a craft knife. This takes a bit of practice, so try on some plain polymer clay first.

Once cut out you can put a hole in the top with a needle (so you can put in a jump ring later). Twist the needle gently or you may split the piece. You can also bake as is, and make a hole later with a hand drill. Alternatively, using an idea from https://www.instagram.com/lindlyhaunani/# I use plastic covered paper clips which I have cut off with wire cutters. The plastic seems to melt with the clay and the attachment is firm. I gently make two holes with a very fine needle, twisting as I go, then a slightly larger needle. I then gently push the piece of paper clip in. I have the earrings on a tile to make this easier – if you need to touch the earring put a piece of paper over the top.

For these earrings I’ve pushed some course sandpaper in to make a texture. Test first on your scraps. If that’s going to stick put a small amount of cornflour on your piece before using the sand paper. It will wash off after it’s baked.

Bake at the recommended temperature. I usually bake everything for an hour.

Making the neck piece.

Start with a lump of scrap clay. Roll into a ball then insert wooden skewer (or similar). Start gently rolling. Take care not to make the hole in the middle too big. If it’s getting large, just take the skewer out, squeeze it in a bit and roll for a bit without the skewer. You can control the length. If you move your two hands closer together while rolling, you will make it shorter. If you aim your hands apart as you roll, the log will get longer. I wanted to cover the scrap with some colours which would show through any gaps. I used different colours to give the piece some variation. Roll until smooth, moving hands towards each other to stop it becoming too long. Take the pieces you sliced off your stack and place them all over the log. Once again, roll this to smooth it out.

Once it is the right length, take the skewer out and gently shape into a “U” shape. Once baked, thread some buna or other cord through. I smoothed mine more after baking by sanding with wet and dry sandpaper using P400 then P600 – then buff it on an old pair of jeans to give it a bit of shine. (sandpaper grits can differ between countries so check out what grits are recommended in your country.)

Create a colour scheme – a simple approach.

Making your own colour scheme can enhance the individuality of your work. While you may want to learn a lot more about colour, you could find that the following approach can help you build your own cohesive colour scheme straight away.

Table of contents

Create a basic colour scheme

You will:

  • work with three packet colours only, plus black and white (believe me, this is easier that starting with more packet colours)
  • follow some basic steps to create a colour scheme without trying to match, or create, specific colours
  • make changes (if needed) to one or more colours until you’re satisfied.

Here are the steps I followed to get to the colours I used in the dish pictured above. Your initial scheme will have quite ‘clean’ colours, meaning no muted/muddy colours such as browns. However this is a good start for any scheme, and I explain below how to add some muddy colours to your scheme (such as brown, olive green, mustard yellow).

Step 1 – choose three packet ‘primary’ colours

Choose three packet clay colours that are exactly, or similar to, the three CYM primary colours.

The colours marked C Y and M below are the primaries, from which you can mix almost any colour (think about your inkjet printer with 3 colour tanks plus black). Three Premo colours are quite close to the primaries – cobalt blue, zinc yellow and fuchsia (marked below with *). However, any colours in any brand that are similar will work. The colour wheel gives some idea about the results of mixing any two of your colours together – so for example yellow and fuchsia will result in oranges or reds.

Step 2 – mix 2 packet colours

Take two of your three colours (let’s call them colour 1 and colour 2) and mix different proportions to create 2 or 3 new colours. Proportions are important. Try a 50/50 mix, then try 20 parts to 1, which will give you an idea of the strength of each colour. Think of the resulting colours as the main colour group for your scheme, although you can change this later.

Step 3 – mix contrast colours using the third packet

Make one or two colours by mixing just two colours at a time, but this time include the third colour – so mix colour 1 and 3, and colour 2 and 3. This should form some contrasts to your first set of colours. Alternatively you may want one of your contrast colours to be one of your packet colours (for example blue or yellow).

Step 4 – check for contrast and finish your colour scheme

Look at your new colours and see if there is enough contrast. It’s good to have some colours that are similar, but some contrast is important for a lot of polymer clay techniques. Consider:

  • hue – the actual colour, for example yellow and purple are a strong contrast
  • light/dark – imagine a black and white photo of your colours – would you see strong contrast
  • clean v muddy (muted) – are some colours ‘clean’ (eg a bright green) and other colours muddy (eg olive green, mustard or brown).
  • proportions – are you using different proportions of each colour in your work?
To lighten colours

You may want to lighten one or more colours to increase contrast. Generally you can do this by:

  • adding yellow to a colour that contains yellow (reds, oranges or greens) or
  • adding white to colours such as blues and purples.

Example

I used Premo cadmium yellow (CY), ultramarine (U and fuchsia (F). My first mixes were CY and U.

I mixed:

  • 50 parts CY to 1 part U
  • 12 parts CY to 1 part U
  • 3 parts CY to 1 partU

These are not recipes, but a guide to what you might expect. (Colours change a lot due to camera, lighting and computer screens)

Note how strong the U is compared to the CY. Using half and half would resu a very dark green. You can ‘eye ball’ your amounts, but I cover how to measure proportions below.

For my contrasts I mixed:

  • 1 part F to 4 parts CY
  • 1 part F to 8 parts CY
  • 4 parts F to 1 part U

After looking at the colours together, decided I needed another light colour. I mixed the purple colour with some white. Here is my colour scheme with black and white added, and showing how I might use different proportions in a piece. Colour schemes rarely look good if you just set out equal amounts of each colour. A general rule to start with is to use 60% of your main colour, 30% of your first contrast and 10% of your second contrast

This is the scheme used in the dish above…
and here are the sample tiles.

Another example

For this scheme I started mixing magenta and yellow, resulting in a very light orange and a mid orange. My contrast colours were blue (cobalt blue packet colour third from the left) and magenta/purple. I decided to make blue the main colour, so I added white to the blue in different amounts to give me a range of blues, and made a darker blue by adding a small amount of black. I also included some white in the scheme. I’m not sure if the magenta/purple works, but it may look good if used in small amounts.

Key tips

  • See what colours develop rather than trying to match a particular colour scheme
  • Don’t start with more than three colours (+ black and white)
  • Once you have a colour scheme you like, stick with it for a while – you probably don’t need to mix a new scheme every time you make something
  • If you have a pasta machine or small scale you can measure and document your recipes
  • Some clay colours are very strong, so try using smaller amounts of the darker colour for example use 1 part blue to 20, 50 or even 100 parts yellow
  • Contrast – in most polymer clay work good contrast is important. Check to see if there’s enough contrast in your colours

Take your colour scheme further

If you started with the primaries, or very close to the primaries, your colours will tend to be pure (clean). This means the colours are bright and clear, so you won’t have very muted (or muddy) colours such as mustards, olives or browns.

I’m often happy with quite clean colours, particularly as techniques such as mokume gane can muddy up the colours when very thin layers blend in the process.

However, if you want to take your scheme further, this is how I worked my green/orange scheme above to create a more complex scheme, including more muted colours.

Step 1 – alter one or more colours

This part involves playing around altering one colour at a time to see what fits in. One slightly different colour can make a big difference to your scheme. I only changed two colours in the end, but I tested a few mixes before I was happy.

I decided I wanted to try some browny colours, and also add one or more light contrasts.

To mute (muddy) a colour, you can add a small amount of black. If that darkens the colour, add some white as well (using twice as much white as black can prevent darkening). However, I prefer to mix in a colour that is on the other side of the colour wheel – it doesn’t need to be exactly opposite. Note that two colours that are somewhat opposite on the colour wheel make a muted colour when mixed together. So I decided to aim for some browns by adding a little U to my original oranges. It only needed a small pinch to turn the orange to brown.

Step 2 – play around until you are happy with your new scheme

I decided that I liked the three colours in the right hand picture.

I made a much lighter orange by mixing 1F to 50 parts CY.

The mid brown and dark brown are both made by adding a small amount of U to my original oranges.

4CY, 1 F and 1 U (middle) and 8CY, 1F and 1/2 U (bottom).

After playing around with my new colour samples, I decided to keep the original greens and purples, but to replace the original oranges with the new lighter orange and dark brown. I usually use some black and white as well to my work, so I’ve included that.

If you alter the proportions in your work, the one colour scheme can look quite different. For example, the orange and brown could be the major colours, using greens and purples as minor contrasts.

Measuring and recording

You don’t need to measure your colour mixes exactly, and you can do some by eye (for example mixing 1/2 a packet of one colour with 1/4 packet of another. However, more accurate measurement can be important if mixing more extreme proportions (as below) and enable better record keeping if you want to record your recipes. Some options for more accurate mixing:

  • Roll packet colours to the same thickness (using a pasta machine). Use a cutter to measure amounts. Using all 12 yellow squares and the quarter of a blue square would give me 48 yellow to 1 blue.
  • Use a small scale – available cheap online. I have 0.51 (about half) a gram of blue. 24 gram of yellow would also give me 48 yellow to 1 blue.
  • Using some graph paper (preferably under a translucent surface). The mix in the picture would be about 96 yellow to 1 blue.

I make samples of all my colour mixes, and record the recipe on the tile. I then have a box of tiles to play with if I want to create a new scheme.

Colour resources

BreakThrough Colour – While not only for polymer clay artists, many members of Tracy Holmes’ Colour Room work with polymer clay. A great way to get more confident with colour.

Joan Tayler sells some colour resources that are specific to polymer clay on her Etsy site. Her colour lines show the range of colours you can achieve by mixing just two colours. Her instagram shows her ‘4 packet challenge’ where she made a scheme from 4 random packet colours.

The Blue Bottle Tree Insiders Community is a great resource for anything polymer clay, including articles and videos about colour.

‘Naked’ polymer clay – the rewards of limiting tools and materials

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Whether you’re wondering where to start, teaching beginners, or just wanting to fire your creativity, it’s worth considering what few tools and materials you really need.

Polymer clay is an amazing material – there are so many techniques and endless tools available – it can all be overwhelming. 

There are good reasons to limit your tools and materials.   

  • Reduced cost
  • Reduced waste
  • You can find out if you like the material before spending more money
  • If teaching – you can teach a class of beginners and keep costs low
  • You can work out what additional supplies you really need, and add gradually to your collection.

However, another benefit is that constraints can encourage creativity and even help us get over the “where do I start” block.

I don’t make pieces to sell, and have used polymer clay as my ‘meditation’ – as a break from my day job in community work before I retired.   So, this approach is probably not economical, but it might help you approach polymer clay in a way that encourages mindfulness, and helps develop your creativity. [Of course this is the aim – in real creative life I’m often stuck, impatient and cross when my pieces don’t turn out!]

All the pieces above are made using only: 

  • A roller
  • A blade
  • A craft knife; 
  • Polymer clay in 5 colours – yellow, blue, magenta, black and white;
  • rubbing alcohol for cleaning surface and tools; and
  • Some items I had around the home.

One additional item which I couldn’t do without is my pasta machine. It certainly speeds things up and saves my hands, but you don’t need one to get started unless you have issues with your hands. Most of the techniques I use could be done without a pasta machine, and some well known artists including Layl McDill and the late Tory Hughes taught classes without using pasta machines.

I love working with the colours of the clay itself, rather than adding paint or inks.  Mixing colours from just a few original colours can result in a more cohesive colour scheme.  The technique used can also change the colours – for example in the mokume-gane earrings above I have only used a light orange, magenta, black and white, but the blending of those colours due to thin layers introduces a green colour.

The earrings here have been made with the tools and clay colours above, but using the pasta machine, which speeds things up and helps to achieve even thickness.

See here for a ‘mokume-gane’ tutorial using minimal tools – includes instructions for earrings and neck piece.

I taught a 5-day polymer clay class

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I recently taught a polymer clay course to11 students, over 5 days, at the TAFTA live-in textile art retreat at Geelong (Australia).   I was one of 10 tutors – students choose one course which they do for the full week.  I haven’t taught anything like this before, so this involved a lot of planning.

I have attended the TAFTA retreat annually as a student for many years, but polymer clay has not often been taught (most recently in 2017 when Tory Hughes was the tutor, shortly before she died).

My students ranged from full time artists (in other media) and art teachers to those with little experience.  None had much experience – if any – with polymer clay.

 The classes at this retreat traditionally teach students various techniques, and while some design guidance is provided, students are encouraged to take the techniques in any direction they choose.   You can see by the photos above how wide-ranging the student work was.

A key theme of my class was recognising, and using, the colour properties of the polymer itself, rather than using surface treatments.

Students only brought Premo in black, white and three primary colours.  We spent a full day planning an individual colour scheme, mixing colours and making blends.

Over the next few days I demonstrated various construction techniques, canes and mokume gane.  Feedback from the students, and others who saw our work, was very positive.

I also did a short presentation to the (about 100) event attendees, explaining the variety of colour and pattern effects that can be achieved, showing pictures of my work and that of my favourite polymer clay artists, including Kathleen Dustin and Jeffrey Lloyd Dever.  The feedback from the audience, most who take a keen interest in textile and other art forms, was that this was a real eye-opener, showing that polymer clay is a highly versatile art material.

Mokume-gane

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Update: See a mokume gane tutorial here.

Polymer clay presents so many ways to use just the clay itself (without paint etc) to create complex color blends and designs.   

The Mokume-gane technique involves (usually very thin) layers of clay stacked, and impressed with deep stamps, texture sheets or household objects such as knitting needles, pen tops, and various hardware.  (The name is based on an ancient metal technique which involves patterns created by cutting into thin layered metal sheets)

Once impressions are made, very think slivers can be removed with a flexible blade, so you can use the sheet of pattern that remains as well as the slivers you’ve removed.

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Fabric inspired earrings

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I made a pair of trousers from this wonderful fabric, designed by ‘Miss Moresby‘, and decided to use this design as inspiration for some polymer clay earrings.

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Another Dan Cormier workshop

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I recently finished another online course with Dan Cormier, this time making vessels. The course was about construction, and we had to create our own veneer. As always, there was a focus on exacting work, which is a great discipline.

I’ve since made a film container for someone who is using an old ‘box brownie’ camera. I was aiming to create a mid-century design based on the shapes in my leather cutter set. These cutter sets are quite cheap – search eBay or similar for “leather cutters”.

Scrap clay techniques

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There’s no such thing as scrap clay – well not for me – I find so many things to do with clay left over from projects I rarely have much scrap.

If you make items to sell it may not be economical to look for ways to use scrap.  However, if you do this for pleasure like I do, and make items on a small scale you might find working with your scraps helps fuel your creativity.  

Here I make suggestions for all levels of scrap, from left-over canes to those muddy clumps of clay. 

Here’s my video of the ‘Totem’ / Micro-Natasha technique mentioned below. [I’ve heard since that the term used for this technique is ‘scrap-scape’]

Left-over canes

Kaleidoscope canes

Lengths of these canes were combined to make the new cane (bottom left).

Kaleidoscope canes are great if you have excess canes, or have canes you just don’t like.  To get the repeated pattern, all components need to be consistent for the length of the cane, so are good for canes you have no more use for – even canes you think are ugly can look great when combined in a kaleidoscope cane.  You can also add long ‘sausages’ or strips of a color.  You’ll find a lot of tutorials for these, or  See my steps in making a kaleidoscope cane from left over canes and also here.

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Simple kaleidoscope cane

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I’m luckier than many who’ve suffered physically, emotionally and financially from COVID19, and haven’t minded the extended lock-down in Melbourne.  As well as having a bit more time for polymer clay and other crafts, I’ve had regular zoom ‘craft catchups’ with friends.  One technique I share with people who are new to polymer clay is the kaleidoscope cane.  You can get impressive results using just a few elements, and it’s a great way to use up canes you have left over.  Even canes you don’t like can be beautiful when combined with others and repeated in this way.

Pen kit (sold for wood turners) covered in polymer clay canes, showing step by step to final cane.

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Flower cane video

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I have described how to make a simple flower cane here.  Here is a video of the process, including making beads. This bangle was worn by one of the actors in Jane Cafarella’s play about surrogacy – “e-baby” which was performed at Chapel off Chapel (Melbourne, Australia) in March 2015.

Sarah Ranken (wearing the bracelet) and Carolyn Bock in

Sarah Ranken (wearing the bangle) and Carolyn Bock in “e-baby””

Background information about the play “e-baby” Jane Cafarella talks about play (ABC Radio National) .

Check this link for an amazing (very short) video of the building of a Marilyn Monroe cane by Adina Pastelina.